


All In A Day's Work

by miss_moonstone



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Guardians of the Galaxy - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), daredevil - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmate Identifying Marks, Alternate Universe - Soulmate Mental Link, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, F/M, Major character death - Freeform, Multi, Villain Grant Ward
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-04-20 07:13:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4778294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_moonstone/pseuds/miss_moonstone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of shorts based around my favorite OC, Delaney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pietro/Delaney

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to pinkpandorafrog (for feeding plot bunnies), ozhawk (for setting up a chat room to talk about said bunnies), and Dubstep_Wombat (for beta-ing this short). If I left anyone out, I'm sorry :( Also, this short is unofficially dedicated to my best friend, who lives and breathes Pietro.

Delaney was pacing her residential suite—courtesy of Tony Stark, because why not house your doctor and her assistant in your giant ass tower?— when it happened. The burning started. And it wasn't like a mild irritating burn. This was full on, holy crap my body's on fire burning.

An agonizing trip to the bathroom later, she watched with horror as the messy scrawl across the front of her right shoulder erased itself from body. "No. No, no, no, no, no," came her horrified whisper. She had heard of this type of thing before. The painful burning stopped when the last of the words had erased itself from her body. She would never meet the idiot that would call her an angel.

She couldn't believe it. Ever since she was a little girl, she had dreamed of a perfect ending: good job, her soulmate, maybe a kid or two. Maybe it could still happen, but Delaney knew it couldn't, wouldn't be the same. The only reminded that she had was a dull pain where the mark once was.

~~~~~~~~~~

"What happened?" Clint questioned, eyeing the young woman in shock. She was there, but not there. He had never seen Delaney like this. She was usually upbeat, distracted by the work at hand. Instead, she was barely moving through the motions of her assignment, preparing the Cradle for Pietro.

"Her mark burned itself off earlier. Whoever they were, they're gone," Helen answered. Setting a hand on Delaney's arm, she told the girl to rest.

"Jesus. Burned off?" Clint muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. The poor girl hadn't even met her soulmate and they'd been ripped away from her. No one deserved that.

"Is there any way to save him?" came a soft, accented voice. It was Wanda. She stood next to her twin's body. Delaney and Wanda hadn't had the time to talk much at all; both girls were too much in shock for anything more than a brief introduction.

"In time. The Cradle can heal him," Helen answered. Wanda was relieved beyond relief, thanking the doctor immensely. "Clint, can you accompany Delaney back to her rooms? And keep an eye on her, please."

"Come on, kid. Let's get you upstairs." He eventually coaxed the girl into the elevator and back to her residential suite. He had a good guess as to what Helen had meant by 'keep and eye on her'. Delaney had to be in a fragile state, and could very well do something stupid.

"You're gonna be okay," he soothed. He didn't know if Delaney's life would work the same as the unmarked. He knew plenty of unmarked couples who had happy endings, heard of the rare rejected soulmates that found happiness with the unmarked. It had to work similarly, right?

~~~~~~~~~~

Since that day, Delaney could hardly sleep. If she was lucky, she could get  in a brief nap during the day, but that was it. Even then it was fitful at best. Suddenly, a few nights later, Delaney was wrenched out of sleep one night, only a few days later, by a familiar burning. Half asleep, she stumbled into the bathroom. There, in the same spot it was in, her burned away mark was burning its way back onto her body. This time, she cried tears of joy. They were back! She had a second chance.

She could hardly believe it. The scientific part of her mind questioned this turn of events rapidly: How was this possible? Why was the mark back? Did they actually die? However, a much louder part of her brain told the scientific part to just shut the hell up.

Clint was still her designated babysitter, dozing on the couch. "Clint, look! It's back," she exclaimed, running into the living room.

"What's back?" mumbled the archer, rubbing his eyes. Delaney was excited about something, that was certain. He hadn't seen her this perky since before Ultron.

"The mark! It's back! They're alive, somehow. It's the same spot, same words, same writing! Has to be them," she babbled excitedly.

It was just then that Helen unlocked the apartment, running in. "Maximoff's awake," she breathed.

Clint suddenly looked very alert, mumbling something under his breath. Delaney hummed, looking at him. "Nothing. It's nothing. Just thinking out loud," he answered quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Being the middle of the night, Delaney, Clint, Helen, and Wanda were the only ones crowded around the Cradle. Wanda was the first to move when Pietro stirred, sitting up. Delaney just so happened to be the first person he saw.

"Are you an angel?" he asked, confused. Delaney's hand went to her mark, which was in plain view. She was in shock for only a few seconds before she became angry. _This_ man was her soulmate? Hell was _so_ about to break loose.

"Don't you fucking die on me ever again!" she exclaimed angrily. She couldn't help her anger; not only had he put his twin sister—who turned out to be his platonic soulmate—through unimaginable pain, but also his soulmate who he hadn't met yet.

Pietro wasn't fazed by Delaney's outburst in a bit. He stood up, slowly reaching for her hand. "I'm sorry for that, _princeza_. I will try my best not to hurt you again," he said, a smirk tugging at his lips as he sat up.

"It had to be him, didn't it? I call bullshit!" Clint half-mumbled, being drowned out by Wanda fussing over Pietro, scolding him for putting herself and his soulmate through so much worry. "You better listen to her, Pietro. God knows what she's been through to be able to put up with you." Delaney laughed a little at that. Never had she imagined this ever in her life.

Helen was the last to react, letting it all sink in. "Well. It looks like things just got a little more complicated around here," she muttered. It seemed she'd be short an assistant for a while...

 

 

**Translation - Serbian**

_princeza:_ princess


	2. Bucky/Sam/Delaney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to ozhawk's chat page for the help with this, especially critterlady, shiniestqueen, and Dubstep_Wombat.

Everything hurt.

She’d been hurt before – everyone’s been hurt, childhood broken bones, a shattered collarbone after a car crash a few years ago - and she thought she knew pain.

She didn’t. Not this kind of pain.

She panted, throat sore. Disoriented from the repeated blows to her head she’d taken, it took a while for Delaney to realize the crying and screaming was hers. She hadn't a clue how long she had been in her cell. She couldn't quite make out what the guards were saying, but the sentiment was clear; the bastards were _enjoying_ their work.

She couldn't see. The cell was too dark. She assumed that it was small, as she was easily thrown around, hitting the wall or ground often. It felt as if they'd been at it for hours. She figured she was going to die here. HYDRA didn't release victims, they eventually killed them.

Perhaps the one thing she has to be grateful for was that they hadn't raped her. She wasn't even human to them, she suspected, just an animal, meat that had to be punished, beaten and bled until it died.They'd asked her no questions, and she couldn't have answered them not anyway, her throat too swollen, the inside of her mouth bloody from repeated impacts of her teeth against the tender flesh.

Except they stopped. Why would they stop? That didn't make sense. All she knew was everything went quiet. Footsteps came towards her; she squinted through puffy eyes swollen almost completely shut, made out a dark figure stooping down over her. Delaney flinched away as whoever it was reached out towards her. They said nothing, gently picking her up. The moment they touched her, Delaney felt herself falling unconscious. It had been so long, she couldn't help it, and they were so warm, the way they lifted her the first touch of gentleness she’d known in what felt like forever. Still every movement was agony, the pain too much for her battered, bruised body, and the blackness of oblivion was utter bliss.

~~~~~~~~~~

Delaney didn't have a clue how long she'd been out, but it must have been a while, since the one thing she expected to feel when she woke was pain, and there was none. Just a hazy, calm feeling in her mind, a floatiness to her body she didn’t immediately associate with drugs. She was in some kind of medical bay, that was for sure, but she didn’t automatically recognise it. Was she still with HYDRA? Was this some sort of tactic – beat her almost to death, then heal her up so they could start all over again? Looking down at her arm, she realized there was an IV drip. She started pulling at the tape keeping it there, when a voice came from her bedside.

"I'd stop playing with that IV if I were you," a man said. It took a few moments for Delaney to figure out this was the Falcon, leaning over her, a smile gently lighting his face, though he looked concerned. She'd seen him occasionally in the Tower, but never spoken to him. Turned out, he was one of her soulmates. The drugs – of course she was on drugs, she could see the solution dripping into the IV line now - were dulling her emotions, otherwise she might have whooped for joy. _Huh. Never expected that, that’s for sure._ She managed a small smile, though.

"Those are some of the crappiest words someone can have, you know that?" were the first words that came out of her mouth. _Way to make a good impression, Delaney, you doped-up twit._

"Girl, you have no idea how much shit my dad gave me for having those words. You're gonna be a handful, aren't you?" His smile broadened, reaching his eyes.

"How did I get here? The person who rescued me didn't talk," Delaney asked a few minutes later. She wasn’t able to remember much after the initial kidnapping. The bastards must have given her drugs to dull her mind, probably to make getting information easier. Not that they’d asked her any questions – or had they? Her addled mind still couldn’t make any sense of what had happened.

Sam hesitated briefly before answering, his expression changing, though she didn’t know him well enough to guess what he was thinking. "It was the Winter Soldier. His programming had been breaking down when he stormed the base. From what he's told Romanoff, he found you in one of the cells with guards beating you. Steve and I were getting there as he was leaving with you. He trusts Steve, so he handed you over as long as he could come with. He's been here at the Tower ever since."

"Is he a danger to anyone here?" Delaney asked, sitting up. Even the thought of the Winter Soldier being in the Tower was a huge problem. Not long ago, he almost killed Steve! Why on earth would he have bothered to rescue _her_? It made no sense.

"Not from what we can tell. A little jumpy, though."

"When can I get up? I want to thank him," Delaney pleaded. She had always hated being sick or injured, that meant being unable to _do_ anything.

"Give it a few more hours. Let your body heal some more," Sam suggested, easing her back into a laying position. “Can’t have my soulmate all weak when I finally get round to kissing her.”

That made Delaney blush and smile shyly. He really was extraordinarily handsome, especially with that wide white grin as he looked down at her. “I don’t feel all that bad,” she suggested cheekily.

Sam laughed again, shaking his head. “Later, honey. Let’s save it for later.” His fingers brushed very lightly at her cheek, and Delaney suddenly realised how battered she must be, because even that gentle touch hurt, the pain breaking through the painkillers she knew were running into her IV line.

“Okay, so maybe I do feel pretty bad,” she confessed.

“I know. Sleep, honey. Sleep.” He smiled down at her reassuringly, and Delaney let her eyes drift shut.

~~~~~~~~~~

It must have been late when she woke again, her mouth dry, because the lights were dimmed. Sam was still there, napping in a chair by the bed, head rolled back against the back of the chair, the cutest little snores coming from his mouth making Delaney smile fondly.

There was a movement by the end of the bed, though, and she looked across, wincing as the muscles in her neck protested the quick movement. A tall shadow stood there, dressed all in black, long dark hair falling across his eyes.

Delaney had seen enough footage to know this man was the Winter Soldier, recognizable by his metal arm glinting in the low light. She didn't say anything, afraid that she would spook him. Instead, she offered a faint smile.

The man stood there a while before: "I'm sorry."

Delaney tried not to get too upset, or even too hopeful. _I'm sorry_ was a popular soulmark. "Sorry for what? Saving my life?" Her voice sounded horrible, gravelly.

The Winter Soldier's bright blue eyes widened slightly. Just then, Sam stirred. "Didn't expect to see you anytime soon, buddy.” His voice was low, thick with sleep.

The Soldier whirled to stare at Sam, his mouth working silently, his gaze flickering back and forth from Sam to Delaney. And then he turned and sprinted from the room without another word.

“Okay, I didn’t expect that reaction,” Sam said, bemused.

“Sam, he said my other soulmark words!” Delaney gasped, frantic. “You have to go after him!”

Sam moved to get up, but stopped. Muffled voices came from outside the room before Romanoff came in, Winter Soldier in tow. "Speak."

The Soldier said something to his friend in Russian; whatever it was, it made her roll her eyes.

“...sorry I almost killed you,” he muttered towards Sam after a long moment, turning his head away to stare at the floor. Sam cleared his throat, glancing at Delaney with wide eyes.

“Uh, nah, man. It’s...fine…?"

~~~~~~~~~~

"You're kidding. Tony Stark is lending us _his entire property in Pennsylvania?_ " Delaney arched her eyebrows, looking between her two soulmates. Sam looked just as handsome as always in a white button-down shirt and black slacks.

It had been one week since Bucky had rescued Delaney, and she was finally back to normal. Now, 'normal' meant having two seriously beautiful men being her soulmates. Bucky was grinning at her, obviously very proud of himself. Sam looked just as happy.

"Figured the three of us needed a getaway after what's happened," Bucky offered. He was starting to get used to life again, evident by his almost relaxed stance. He had even gotten his hair trimmed

" _Getaway_ would be a couple weeks in Miami! This is much more than that!" Delaney squeaked.

"Tan lines wouldn't suit you, Doctor Model. Miami wouldn't be your best option, considering Barnes' physical appearance." _Damn it all to hell._ Delaney turned around and narrowed her eyes at the billionaire in question.

"For the last time, Tony, I'm not a doctor! I'm Dr. Cho's assistant," Delaney huffed. She managed to ignore Tony, but Bucky didn't. She could hear a rumble starting in his chest.

"Easy there, big guy. Just pointing out facts." Sam must've whispered something in Bucky's ear, since his expression changed from an angry scowl to a smirk.

Delaney sighed and went back to her work. Only, an 'ACCESS DENIED' screen blinked back at her. "What the hell?" she muttered as she tried all her access codes.

A couple minutes later she asked: "FRIDAY, who sealed my files?"

_"Miss Potts, ma'am."_

_Of course she did._ Delaney sighed, turning to her soulmates. "You two are gonna be a damn handful."


	3. Bucky/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the entirety of Ozhawk's chatroom for helping this short along!

“ _Dr. Evans, Sir is requesting your presence in the medical labs,_ ” JARVIS’ crisp voice rang out in the peaceful quiet of Delaney’s apartment. She managed to stifle a groan as she glared at the clock: 2 AM.

“Doesn’t Tony know that I’m not his personal physician?” she grumbled as she tugged a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans over her pajamas. _Should be getting paid extra for this bullshit…_ “Tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can, will you?”

Delaney had barely set foot outside the elevator when Darcy shoved a thermos of coffee in her hands. “You’re gonna need something stronger than that later,” the scientist-wrangler babbled as she dragged Delaney into the closest lab.

The question _And why is that?_ became stuck in her throat as her eyes settled on the Winter Soldier, his eyes frantically darting around the sterile room. “You’re right. Stark, you owe me a bottle of tequila.”

Tony managed to stop inspecting the poor man’s metal arm long enough to register Delaney’s words. “I’ll make it a case. Just help him.”

Delaney nodded as she pulled on a pair of rubber gloves. “Right. What exactly are his injuries?”

“ _Sergeant Barnes appears to have a broken femur, punctured lung, third degree burns, a second degree concussion, and twenty-two broken bones in his human hand, Doctor,_ ” JARVIS supplied. Delaney blew her cheeks out, mind already organizing what she needed to treat first.

“Christ,” Rogers muttered from beside his friend, a hand resting on Bucky's shoulder to comfort as well as hold him down. The injured man’s eyes became even more fearful as Delaney drew closer. _Okay, okay. Easy does it, Del. You can do this._ She tried her best not to struggle as his metal hand whirred and closed around her wrist.

“Please,” he almost sobbed, “please don’t put me in the chair!”

Delaney froze, taking a deep breath before answering. “I promise I will never hurt you. Will you let me help you?” Delaney’s heart nearly broke at the relieved whimper that escaped her soulmate’s mouth.

“Wait a minute. Evans, isn’t that-”

“Yes Tony, it is. Now hush,” she growled at the billionaire. _Once again I’m reminded why I hate Tony and his nosiness..._ Her eyes met Rogers’ at his sharp intake of breath as he realized why Bucky was so affected by her words.

“That’s it. Tony, you’re coming with me,” Darcy said matter-of-factly, taking her soulmate by the wrist and leading him out of the lab, not not before mouthing _You’re welcome!_ at Delaney.

Delaney sighed, turning back to Rogers and Barnes before addressing JARVIS again. “What kind of healing factor am I working with?”

The AI was quiet for a moment, assessing. “ _His punctured lung has begun to heal itself, Doctor. By my approximations, I believe Sergeant Barnes will be fully healed in two to three weeks._ ”

“Then I better work quickly,” she murmured.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you,” Rogers said while Delaney sedated Bucky. She shook her head as she stepped away and discarded her gloves.

“I would’ve helped him even if Tony hadn’t asked, even if he wasn’t my soulmate,” she said tiredly. It had taken nearly three hours to treat Bucky as he had still been terrified of the lab, no matter how much Steve and Delaney tried to soothe him.

Steve nodded. “You should get some sleep.”

Delaney shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine. I was an ER doctor before Tony picked me up, my body’s used to odd hours.”

“ _Captain Rogers, Dr. Evans, Miss Lewis wishes for me to inform you both that there is breakfast being served in Sir’s apartment._ ” Delaney couldn’t help a soft chuckle. Only JARVIS would refer to Tony’s massive penthouse as an apartment.

“I’ll bring you something,” Steve promised before he headed for the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~

It took about twelve hours before Bucky could stay awake long enough to have a conversation. When he tried to shift into a sitting position, Delaney opened her eyes. “Hey, take it easy,” she said, voice rough from misuse. “You’re safe here.”

Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed as he tried to place the young woman sitting at his bedside. Even with with brain still a little fuzzy, he could tell that she was tired. Or was it stressed? “Who are you? Where am I?”

“Your friend Steve brought you here to Stark Tower when he found you, said you were half-dead in an alley. I’m Delaney Evans, but I think you’ll recognize this.” Bucky watched, puzzled as she pulled up her sleeve, until his eyes focused on the scrawled words on her inner forearm: _Please, please don’t put me in the chair!_

“Yeah...yeah, that’s mine,” he said, his eyes darting up to her face. Why aren’t you scared? he wanted to ask. He wracked his brain to remember where his own mark was, but he couldn’t focus, could only look at the girl sitting beside him.

She - Delaney, he corrected himself - smiled at him. “Your supersoldier healing is doing most of the work, but I cast your femur, splinted your hand, and salved your burns. JARVIS says your punctured lung is healing quickly and that you’ve fully recovered from your concussion.”

“Did I...did I hurt you?” Bucky asked. He knew it could be possible, likely even. Her kind smile and gentle voice were so soothing after decades of HYDRA treating him as an attack dog.

Delaney shook her head. “You were calm as long as you could see or hear me or Steve. You thrashed around a little when I touched your head, but no one got hurt.” Bucky managed a relieved smile. His eyes wandered to her lips before going back to her eyes. “May I...may I have a kiss?” he asked.

Delaney almost giggled, hardly believing her soulmate was the same man Steve told stories about, how suave Bucky Barnes had been. “You only had to ask, silly.”

~~~~~~~~~~

**Two months later**

Bucky had to try hard not to snicker as Stark puzzled over the broken bedroom door, prodding at the dents in the wood. “What the hell did you two _do_?” Bucky only grinned and shared a look with his soulmate.

His grin widened when her cheeks turned bright pink and hid her face in his shirt. “It’s not funny, it’s embarrassing,” she mumbled.

Bucky shook his head and tilted Delaney’s chin up, giving her a chaste kiss. “Not one of my brighter ideas.”

“You know what...I don’t want to know,” Tony muttered. “Ugh. Can you two go play kissy face somewhere else?”

“Well, I do need a new door,” Delaney said slowly. She turned to Bucky. “Fancy a trip to Home Depot?”

“What’s Home Depot?” Bucky asked.

Tony’s face lit up at the suggestion. “I smell an Avengers Field Trip!”

“Great, we lost them,” Delaney muttered an hour later as her new door was being loaded into the car. It had been bad enough losing Bruce among the plants, but now everyone but Pepper and Bruce were missing.

Delaney didn’t have to concentrate very hard to get Bucky’s attention through their mental link. She communicated a sense of tiredness, of wanting to be home with him. It only took a moment for her to convey the image of their bed to him, a small giggle coming from her when she felt his sudden need to _get the hell out._

Bruce gave Delaney a suspicious look. “What did you do?” She only shook her head and failed at concealing her smile as she spotted Bucky hauling Clint and Natasha across the parking lot.

“What’s wrong, baby?” she asked sweetly, knowing full well through their bond exactly what was wrong even without seeing the dark look in his eyes.

“Be right back. I’ll get the others. You two? Stay,” he all but growled before sprinting for the garden department.


	4. Mack/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to sarratorrens in ozhawk's chatroom for beta-ing this short, as well as ozhawk, LadyWinterlight, and nerdykat for nudging me along!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This short is set shortly after Jemma was sucked up into the monolith, and includes a different take on Delaney. Hope you enjoy!

“Agent Evans.”

Delaney looked up from her work, not surprised to see Hill standing in the middle of her lab. She sighed and removed her glasses. “It’s Dr. Evans now, Maria. You know that.” Ever since SHIELD fell, Fury had demoted her from a Level 7 agent to the Avengers’ babysitter.

“You’ve been reassigned. The Director of SHIELD wants to bring you back into the fold.”

Delaney stood up and walked across the lab. “What should I tell Stark?” She was beginning to feel a surge of excitement, finally able to ditch the labs.

Maria cocked her head before answering. “Your sister’s pregnant, isn’t she? Tell him the baby came early, you need a few weeks off.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Delaney had barely set foot inside the Playground before she was approached by a young woman whose demeanor just screamed ‘agent’. “I assume you’re the medical expert Coulson’s recruited?” Her tone was somewhere between business-like and intimidating.

Delaney smiled politely. “Delaney Evans. I was reassigned, actually. Former babysitter and medical expert for the Avengers.”

The woman quirked an eyebrow. “I hear that’s too big a job for any one agent,” she said. “Daisy Johnson.”

Delaney huffed out a laugh. “Stark was a bit much sometimes, but I learned to deal,” she said. “Though I do miss my toys.”

Daisy gave her a little half-smile. “We’ve got some fun toys, too,” she said, gesturing for Delaney to follow her. “Come on, let’s find you a room.”

Daisy visibly thawed as they walked, Delaney doing her best to be friendly and put the young agent at ease. She paused at the first vacant room she saw, peeking inside. It was simple: a queen sized bed, a dresser, nightstand, and closet. “What about this one?”

Daisy laughed. “Trust me, you don’t want that one,” she said before pointing at the one next door. “That’s Hunter and Bobbi’s room. They’re soulmates, get pretty loud.”

Delaney barely managed to stifled a giggle. “Point taken.” “This is your room,” Daisy told her, “that door there leads through to medical.” There was one other accommodation room between Delaney’s and the medical wing; she pointed at it curiously.

“Whose is that?”

Daisy hesitated being answering. “Jemma Simmons. She’s our biochemist. Missing in action.”

It was just then that the door to Jemma’s room opened, a young man standing in the doorway.

“Fitz, this is Delaney Evans, the medical expert Coulson brought in. Delaney, this is Fitz, our engineer,” Daisy introduced.

Delaney couldn’t help her frown as Fitz mumbled a greeting before heading down the hallway, nose buried in a manuscript he had been carrying.

“He’s a bit distracted. With Simmons gone…” Daisy trailed off.

Delaney nodded, not needing to know more. She could see that Fitz cared for this Simmons deeply, enough to be lost without her. “Right. I’ll just unpack and meet you in the lounge?”

Daisy smiled. “Sure. You want anything to eat? Mack’s out on a food run.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Who ordered the cheeseburger and the chocolate shake?”

Delaney up glanced up at the man, Mack, from her position leaning against the Playground’s kitchen counter. She set aside her tablet, glad to have a break from her new team’s medical files. “Put it on the table, will you? I gotta finish this up real quick.”

Delaney barely had time to blink before he hastily left her food on the table and bolted down the hall. She felt reluctant to move, as all of a sudden it felt like everyone was staring at her. “Is it just me, or does he do that to everyone?” she asked, completely baffled.

“Mack’s cool once you get to know him. Go be friendly, Delaney. You’ll probably find him playing X-Box,” Coulson suggested before taking a sip of his drink.

 _Might as well see what’s got him spooked_. Having made up her mind, Delaney scooped up her burger and shake and headed off in the direction he had went.

Coulson had been right about Mack hiding out with his X-Box. She didn’t say anything at first, only watched. He was completely zoned in on his game, not realizing she was there until she propped her hip up on the back of the couch. “Don’t want to talk, Bobbi,” he said.

Delaney nearly fell over the back of the couch in shock. She tried to find the strength to keep calm, but she couldn’t keep a handle on her brain-to-mouth filter. “You’re the reason why I'm named Delaney Annabelle Roberta Evans! My parents had my name all picked out and then I was fucking born with that on me and you thought you were talking to someone else?!”

Mack stared at his soulmate in shock for a few moments before: “Oops?”

Delaney raised her eyebrows. “Oops? I had to deal with being ‘Bobbi’ for eighteen years and all you have to say is ‘Oops’?”

Mack looked at Delaney rather sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” he said.

Delaney looked Mack over properly. He was extremely tall, taller than Steve even. “So, are you going to kiss your soulmate or what?” she asked. No matter how much her soulmark had annoyed her growing up, she couldn’t bring herself to stay angry.

Mack didn’t need to be asked twice. He grinned and patted the couch cushion next to him. “Why don’t you come down here and find out?”

Delaney giggled and swung her legs over the back of the couch, sinking down next to him. She reached across him to set her food down on the end table and yelped as she found herself pulled into his lap and blushed, realizing their very compromising position. “Now, how about that kiss...” she trailed off as one of his huge hands settled against her lower back, the other hovering over her hip as she relaxed and leaned towards him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hunter wandered back into the kitchen, blinking rapidly.

“That bad?” Daisy asked, not even trying to conceal her scowl as she passed Bobbi ten dollars.

“...no one wants to use the lounge for a while, trust me,” Hunter said. “Apparently, they’re soulmates.”


	5. Ward/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to ozhawk for suggesting this pairing, LadyWinterlight for beta'ing, and everyone in ozhawk's chatroom for helping me through it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This short is definitely non HEA for some characters involved, so read at your own risk, please.

“Stay away from her, you son of a bitch!”

Ward froze in his tracks, mere feet away from Skye, _his_ Skye. He turned towards the woman who said his soulwords, almost disappointed to see that she was wearing a medic’s uniform. She was pretty enough to suit his tastes, but he’d have to see to retraining her. “Then I’ll take you instead. You’re the one who’s meant to be mine anyway, it seems.”

Her eyes narrowed, shifting from fear to untempered hatred. “I know all about you, Grant Ward. You must be insane if you believe I could ever care for you,” she spat.

Ward stepped closer to Skye’s unconscious form, a small curl catching on the corner of his lips. “You’ve been mine for the past twenty-two years,” he countered. “In time, you will understand that. You were made for me and no one else can have you.”

“No. I was meant for the Grant Ward who rose above his terrible beginnings, who didn’t choose to perpetuate the cycle of abuse,” she said as she advanced towards him. “In fact, Daisy’s told me all about you. She told me - no, _showed_ me - how much of a monster you are.”

“You are _mine_ , I know you are. I just need you to understand. Please, give me a chance,” Ward begged. He could remember vividly the day she was born. His mother had beat him mercilessly when she saw the words spanning across his shoulder blades.

His soulmate laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. It was a cold, mirthless laugh, vacant and haunting. “Can you even hear yourself? People aren’t _property_.”

Ward took a step back as his soulmate pulled a gun from its holster and aimed it steadily at him. “You’re not going to shoot me. You can’t. We’re meant for each other.” He took a breath, holding up his hands in a non-threatening gesture. “If you kill me, you have no one.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ward. I have Daisy, I have SHIELD. I don’t need or want you,” she said. Though her words were brave, the gun was shaking in her hands. “I have everything and you have nothing. It’s you that’s alone."

It was then when Ward took his chance.

~~~~~~~~~~

When Daisy opened her eyes, she could only watch in horror as Ward disarmed Delaney and grappled with her. “Delaney!” she screamed, seeing Ward had her pinned and struggling. Barely thinking, Daisy flung out her hand and the vibrations sent Ward flying.

Her heart was stuck in her throat as Delaney grabbed her gun and approached Ward’s barely conscious form. Daisy’s scream died in her throat as Ward lunged for Delaney and earned a bullet in his forehead. Delaney holstered her gun before rushing to Daisy’s side. “Come on, we gotta get out of here,” she said as she helped Daisy up.

~~~~~~~~~~

Delaney couldn’t help a glance over her shoulder at her soulmate’s dead body. _Hope you’re in hell, you bastard._ Once she and Daisy got to the door of the containment pod, she pressed a button on the device Ward had used to lock the three of them in and the rest of the SHIELD team out. The door immediately opened and rushed in their team.

Delaney could barely hear them though, as her soulmark burned away, the pain became too much.

When she woke, Delaney opened her eyes to Jemma hovering over her. “Delaney!” she said. “Oh thank God you’re awake! Skye’s worried sick.”

 _Daisy_ , she wanted to correct but managed to hold her tongue. “Where is she?” Delaney asked, her voice hoarse.

“I’m right here,” came the familiar voice beside her. Delaney turned her head, reaching out for Daisy’s hand. “There’s something you both should know,” Jemma said. “When you were examined, I found that you both have soulmarks. They match.”

It was then when Delaney noticed the words scrawled across the palm of her hand: _I’m right here_. She didn’t even notice as Jemma slipped out of the room quietly.

Delaney couldn’t help her giggle when Daisy said: “I’ll show you mine when you’re cleared to leave.”


	6. Clint/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Nerdykat, AlekWalker, Mountainfall, and Orlha!

“Is Agent Barton always like this?”

Ever since the Battle of New York, Stark had been busy renovating an entire floor of Avengers Tower into a state-of-the-art medical facility. Quite understandably, Delaney had been quite shocked to find out she had been hired to be the Avengers’ doctor. She had already been directed to her studio apartment on the residential floor, but was now watching with amusement as none other than the Black Widow was trying to coax Hawkeye into staying long enough to be checked over.

“ _I'm afraid so, Doctor. Agent Barton does not care for hospitals_ ,” the Tower’s AI responded.

“Hello. I'm Dr. Delaney Evans,” she greeted the Black Widow. “JARVIS tells me Agent Barton here is being a little too difficult for my staff.”

“Am not,” the injured man grumbled.

Delaney tried her best not to react. Those two little words had been scrawled on her inner thigh since birth. She had always expected that she would meet her soulmate as a child, perhaps arguing over who who was ‘it’ in a game of tag. She _definitely_ hadn’t expected her soulmate to be a superhero with an aversion to hospitals.

“Oh really? Tell me, then, why three of my nurses have complained about you in the past forty-five minutes,” Delaney said.

Clint’s eyes went wide for a second, then he grinned. “I knew one day I’d hear those words,” he said gruffly. “Ever since I got them, I’ve always been a difficult patient. I had to find you.”

Delaney chuckled. “Always thought I’d find you on the playground as a kid, not here,” she said, testing the movement in his wrist. “Though I’m definitely not disappointed.”

Clint and Natasha’s eyes met and shared a smile, seeming to Delaney to mean more than their close camaraderie. She had seen the footage, how the agents moved as one. “I’m sorry. You two are involved, aren’t you?” She didn’t have two soulmarks; did he decide not to wait for her?

 _Ah hell._ Clint’s heart sank as he realized what Delaney assumed. _She thinks I don’t want her._ He tugged her against him and kissed her hard until she melted against him. When she opened her eyes and met his, the look she gave him made Clint want to kiss her senseless.

Clint’s arms drew tighter around his soulmate. “Delaney, Nat and I are strictly platonic. Trust me, her tastes are more no-nonsense brunettes and Scottish geniuses. I’ve been waiting for you for thirty years. No way in hell I’m letting you go that easily.”

Natasha cleared her throat, giving the pair an amused look. “Clint is like family. And now so are you.”


	7. Claire/Delaney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Nerdykat for betaing!

When Delaney stepped foot inside Matt’s apartment, she didn’t expect to see him getting stitched up while sprawled on his couch.

She sighed, setting her things down. “Seriously? I take the Stark job and you become a vigilante,” she muttered. _Honestly. It’s like he **wants** to get his ass beat._

Matt chuckled before wincing from the motion. “I missed you too, Del.” He paused before: “Claire, this is Delaney. Del, this is Claire.”

Claire looked her over. “Matt didn’t tell me he had a girlfriend,” she said as she sat back on her haunches.

Delaney huffed out a laugh. “Not his girlfriend,” she shot back before her brain registered the other woman’s words. _Holy shit, she's my soulmate!_

Claire’s hands stilled and she looked at Delaney. Neither woman paid much attention to Matt’s slightly confused expression, head tilted. “Well, isn’t this every man’s fantasy? Two beautiful women good with their hands,” he said finally.

Delaney rolled her eyes. “Only in your dreams, Murdock,” she teased halfheartedly, though she definitely didn’t miss the heated look Claire gave her as she crossed the room and slid down onto the floor in front of the couch. Claire smirked. “But we’ll keep it in the back of our minds. Just in case.”

~~~~~~~~~~

"How do you and Matt know each other?” Claire asked. Matt had long since passed out, leaving Claire and Delaney in privacy. The two were sitting on the floor in front of the couch, speaking in low voices.

Delaney smiled fondly. “St. Agnes. I was ten when he came to the orphanage. When I found out who he was, I just had to become friends with him. He eventually warmed up to me.” She paused to look at her friend and shook her head. _Why he can’t just leave the hero stuff to the Avengers, I’ll never know._ “What about you? How did you meet Matt?”

Claire laughed, a beautiful sound Delaney could get used to. “I fished him out of a dumpster, half-dead.”

Delaney sighed and couldn’t help her small chuckle. “Of course you did. Matt always had to do things the hard way, that hasn’t changed in all the years I’ve known him,” she said.

Claire was the one to reach out first, weaving their fingers together. Delaney had a sudden sense of home, like she had finally found something she hadn’t known she was missing.

“He’ll be out for a while. How about we go get something to eat?” Claire asked, helping Delaney up off the floor.

Delaney smiled. “Could use some time off. I’ll just leave my boss a message, tell him something’s come up,” she said.

"At this hour?” Claire asked, eyebrows raised.

Delaney laughed. “Trust me, Stark’s awake. He’s only been up for twenty-three hours,” she said as they walked out the door, closing it gently behind them.


	8. Steve/Bucky/Delaney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: In this AU, Bucky is found much earlier than in canon. Tony hires Delaney a few months after the events of The Avengers, during which Steve and Bucky admire her from afar.

“Natasha, I don't understand why you’re making me do this,” Delaney complained. Somehow, the other woman had bullied her out of her usual slacks and blouse and into a stunning midnight blue dress. The bodice had a subtle sprinkle of sequins with a rather large cutout in the back, the skirt swirling around her knees.

“Because. Stark is throwing a party and I know for a fact a couple someones who wants to meet you very badly will be there,” Natasha said as she arranged Delaney’s dark curls. “Take a look in the mirror,” she suggested.

Delaney didn’t even recognize herself. Her hair was perfectly curled, unlike her usual messy waves, her makeup dramatic, much different than her usual. Natasha had compromised with her on jewelry, relatively small stud earrings and a delicate bracelet. She thought she would be uncomfortable, but it made her feel _pretty_.

When she turned around, a pair of black peep toe heels dangled from Natasha’s hands, her eyebrows arched. “Put these on and go wow them.”

Delaney sighed, deciding to not even try to argue. She had learned the hard way that there was no stopping Natasha.

“See, it’s not so bad,” Natasha said, directing Delaney out of her apartment and into the elevator. As the doors opened, Delaney felt her body tense, suddenly nervous. She glanced around, her eyes landing on Steve and Bucky. _They shouldn’t make button downs look that good,_ her brain supplied unhelpfully. “I see you’ve found your admirers,” Natasha said in her ear.

Delaney stared at her friend. “You can’t be serious! _Really_?” she gasped, looking at them in a new light. Steve looked almost nervous, while Bucky seemed more relaxed as his eyes lingered on her. She offered them both a little smile as she took the drink Pepper handed her, bringing the glass to her lips.

“Go on and talk to them,” Nat said, rolling her eyes as Delaney looked at her, alarmed. “Oh, come on. You’ll do fine, trust me.” Natasha walked off with Clint as he approached, taking his offered arm.

 _You can do this_ , Delaney reminded herself as she approached them. _Just breathe_. She looked up at the two men, towering over her even though she was wearing ridiculously high heels.

Bucky was still eyeing her appreciatively, so Delaney put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to turn around for you, too?” She had to admit that she looked good, but the way he was looking at her...definitely boosted her confidence.

Bucky choked on his drink, eyes going wide. Delaney suppressed the urge to giggle as Steve’s mouth fell open. “Catching a few flies there, Cap?” she teased. Neither man said anything, though they looked as they _wanted_ to.

Delaney shrugged mentally, turned around and started to walk away. _Maybe I’ve shocked them too much_ , she thought. She couldn’t help the smirk that worked it’s way onto her lips as she heard Steve make a strangled sound and Bucky’s sudden intake of breath as they saw the back of her dress. She stopped as Bucky ran after her, draping his jacket over her shoulders. Delaney gave him a questioning look. “Can I help you?"

“I’m gonna sound real possessive right now, but I don’t think we could bear any other guys seeing you like this,” he said, his expression not quite apologetic.

Delaney looked at him, unable to speak. “I think,” she said after a moment, “that I can live with possessive.”

Bucky gave her a devastating smile, one that made her knees go weak. Suddenly, he was _right there,_ his human arm going around her waist. She couldn’t help her little smirk when she realized his arm would be covering the soulmark on her lower back. Delaney didn’t even try to conceal her needy whine as Bucky leaned down to kiss her, her free hand instinctively clutched at his flesh shoulder.

Bucky lifted his head and looked at Steve, who looked as if he was fighting the urge to rush over. “Get over here punk,” he all but growled.

Delaney couldn’t help her giggle as Steve all but ran over to them. “Wow,” he breathed. “I am damn lucky.”

Delaney looked up at Steve through her eyelashes, giving him a coy smile. “Do I have to ask for a kiss?” _Much_ later, Delaney would tease him for the incoherent sound he made before kissing her senseless.


	9. Tony/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is set shortly after the events of Age of Ultron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks to ozhawk, LadyWinterlight, and Nerdykat!

“I’m _fine_ , Foggy. There’s no reason to be worried about me,” Delaney said into the phone she had tucked under her chin. After SHIELD fell, Maria Hill had suggested Stark hire her as the Avengers’ doctor. In the almost two years she’d been with them, she’d only met the billionaire in passing, never speaking directly.

“Are you _sure_? Last time you said that, robots were attacking Sokovia!” Foggy screeched.

Delaney rolled her eyes. “And I told you, I wasn’t with the Avengers then. I was safely tucked away with Pepper.” What she hadn’t told him was that she had spent many all-nighters keeping an eye on Pietro Maximoff after Dr. Cho saved him. The young man’s condition had been uncertain for days afterwards. She had even grown close to Wanda, who had spent many of those nights with her.

She could just picture Foggy’s face as he tried to argue, but he couldn’t; she _had_ been safe. “Just...let me know if you need anything?”

“I will,” Delaney said before Foggy hung up. Their friendship had been hard since he had met Karen. What was she supposed to do when he found his soulmate? She certainly wasn’t going to mope about and wait for _her_ soulmate.

She didn’t have time to reflect on that particular thought as FRIDAY’s voice brought her back to reality. “ _Doctor, your presence is requested in the labs._ ”

“Thank you.” Delaney had almost gotten used to the feminine voice by now.

When she entered the labs, she hadn’t expected to see Stark frantically typing away at a keyboard while Bruce stood off to the side, a pained look on his face. “How long’s he been doing that?” she asked, gesturing at the billionaire.

“Half hour, forty-five minutes tops. According to FRIDAY, he’s been awake for ninety-six hours. Caffeine and sheer willpower are the only things keeping him awake,” he said.

Delaney cursed under her breath. “I’ll be right back,” she said before running out of the R&D labs and down the hall into her lab. It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for before rushing back.

“What are you giving him?” Bruce asked, looking at the syringe and vial in her hands.

“Hydroxyzine,” Delaney said as she measured the dose. “He’ll get a healthy amount of sleep for the first time in years.”

“Mr. Stark,” she said calmly as she walked towards Tony, “it’s time for you to sleep.”

Just as she stood at his elbow, the billionaire flapped his hands at her. “No shots!” he said, backing away.

Delaney raised her eyebrows. In college, she had worked as a bartender, assuming she would meet her soulmate that way. She didn’t even suspect that her soulmate would turn out to be an impossible patient.

“Mr. Stark,” she tried again. “If you don’t have enough sleep, your tech isn’t going to be very good, is it?” Delaney held up the syringe, now filled with sedative. “Can you be good and let me help you? This will help you go to sleep and get some rest, okay? I promise it’s not going to hurt you.”

Without warning, DUM-E’s arm swung across Stark’s workstation and sent a mug clattering to the floor, making Stark’s head snap around to look at the source of the noise.

 _Perfect opportunity._ Without a second thought, Delaney yanked down the top of Stark’s pants and injected him in the ass, despite his yelp of protest.

“Thanks, DUM-E,” she said and smiled when the robot made a happy whirring sound. She couldn’t help her quiet laugh when she spotted her handwriting just above the injection site. “Well. Mr. Stark,” she said as she helped her soulmate over to the cot in the far corner of the lab, Bruce chuckling quietly as he assisted her, “it looks like I own your ass.”  
~~~~~~~~~~  
“Argh!” Tony flailed awake, finding himself on the cot in his lab. “FRIDAY!”

“ _Yes, Sir?_ ” the cool Irish voice responded.

“Did I dream it, or did a beautiful woman say my words just before she stabbed me in the ass?”

“ _Dr. Evans did indeed say your words just before injecting you with a sedative, Sir,_ ” FRIDAY replied.

“I know her. Don’t I? Why haven’t I spoken to her before? What was with the needle in the ass? Oh!” Tony’s eyes went wide and he scrambled up. “The AI, that was it, I figured out the programming…”

“Don't you fucking well _dare_ ,” an icy voice said, and he whirled to see Delaney standing in the doorway. “Did you learn _nothing_ from Ultron?”

Something flickered in Tony's eyes, a smile twitching at the corner of his mouth before he adopted a penitent pose. "Don't build accidentally homicidal AIs?"

Delaney chuckled without humor, crossing her arms. “You can’t charm your way out of this one, Tony,” she quipped.

“You think I don’t realize the consequences of what I did? I know what I’m doing, _Doctor_ ,” he said, nothing in his tone that even hinted at the joking man Hill had described. This was a man whose conscience had grown heavy with the lives his creation had taken. “You think I’m rebuilding Ultron. Why would I? He _killed_ JARVIS!”

Delaney couldn’t speak; it took everything in her not to try to cry. She too had grieved for JARVIS. She had never thought of him as a program, he had been more than that. She remembered the nights she was homesick in the beginning, when JARVIS had consoled her to the best of his ability, had talked with her until she fell asleep. Even though she still heard his voice frequently, Vision wasn’t JARVIS. He never would be. “I’m sorry,” she said finally. “I’ll just go. If you need anything, you should notify FRIDAY.” It wasn’t until she was halfway down the hall until she let the tears fall.

“Dr. Evans, you are upset,” an all too familiar voice said.

Delaney made herself smile. “I’ll be just fine, Vision.”  
  
~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next few days, the other Avengers began to take notice that Tony was spending much more time locked up in his labs than usual and that Delaney was much less friendly than usual. It didn’t take long for Bruce to crack.

“Tony’s her soulmate,” he admitted over breakfast one morning.

“I’d cry a lot too if Stark was my soulmate,” Clint muttered into his coffee.

“Clint!” Wanda gasped, swatting at him. “No wonder she is upset. He does not seem to want her.”

“It’s not that,” Bruce disagreed. “I heard them talking, after they met. He brought up JARVIS.”

“Were the doctor and JARVIS close?” Vision asked as he stood nearby.

Bruce smiled. “When Delaney first came here, the organization she had devoted her life to was gone, she couldn’t go back to a family she didn’t have. JARVIS was her first friend here.”

“And Ultron killed him,” Sam said, realization on his face. “She blames Stark for the death of her friend. The Vision sounds like him, but he isn’t JARVIS.”

None of the Avengers present spotted Delaney standing in the doorway until she spoke. “Nice to know for sure there’s no such thing as privacy with you lot,” she managed to say before heading towards Tony’s labs.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
“I’m resigning,” she said as the lab doors slid open.

“What? Why?” Tony asked, alarmed. He turned toward her and stood in front of the screen he was working on.

“You’re not happy with me here. Everything reminds me of JARVIS. Your teammates, though they mean well, don’t know the meaning of privacy. It’s time for me to go home,” she said gently. “My friends will be happy. They’ve been begging me to quit SHIELD and superheroes for a while now. I’m sure you can find someone to take my job easily enough.”

“Don’t leave. At least not yet,” Tony asked. “Please. I want to show you something.”

“Make it quick? I have a lot of things to pack,” Delaney said softly.

“Meet TONTO and JEEVES,” Tony said. With a flick on the remote in his hand, two holograms sat in front of her. They were curiously underdeveloped, almost as if done on purpose.

“Hello!” and “Hi!” were parroted at her by surprisingly young voices. They were both British and sounded as though they were young children.

“Hi there,” Delaney said hesitantly.

“You created them,” Tony told her. “When you knocked me out, I was building TONTO’s ‘brain’, so to speak. When you left, I realized how nice it was to just have him. He didn’t have to do anything. He was just there.”

Delaney stared at Tony in wonder. “So you made JEEVES the same way?”

Tony nodded. “I wanted to show you that not everything I make is dangerous.”

Delaney wiped away the tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks. “Thank you for showing me this. I...I need to go pack,” she said.

The expression on Tony’s face could only be described as heartbroken. “Take this with you, at least.” He handed her a USB stick. “It’s JARVIS’ original programming. It’s not the same, but it’s the best I can give you.”

Delaney took the gift, handled it as it it was the most precious gift she could ever have. “Thank you, Tony,” she said and kissed him on the cheek before leaving his lab.

Up in the vents, Clint was mentally kicking himself. “Guys,” he muttered. “We seriously fucked up.”  
~~~~~~~~~~  
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Dels,” Matt said as Delaney was unpacking her last box.

“Admit it, you’re happy I’m not patching up superheroes anymore,” she said, nothing in her voice showing the sadness brewing in her mind.

“I didn’t say that,” he laughed. “I’m serious. I’m sorry things didn’t work out with Stark.”

Delaney chose not to respond. She dug the USB stick Tony had given her out of her pocket. She eyed the desktop computer she had set up thoughtfully. “Matt, do you mind? It’s JARVIS…”

“Go ahead. I’d like to meet him,” Matt said.

Delaney took a steadying breath before plugging it in. It didn’t take long for her to hear the voice she thought she’d never be able to hear again.

“ _Good afternoon, Dr. Evans._ ”

Matt didn’t even have to make up an excuse as to why he had to go out late that night.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
Delaney was barely back into the swing of normal life as a doctor when Rhodey showed up at Metro-General. “You have to come back,” was his opener.

“You’re not my patient anymore, Rhodey,” she said as she headed to the break room.

“This isn’t about me, Delaney. It’s about Tony. He doesn't sleep, he barely eats. He’s miserable without you,” he went on, easily keeping up with her.

“Mr. Stark has gone his entire life not knowing I exist. I think he can manage,” Delaney said as. she turned towards Rhodey. “Besides, he does that anyways.”

“ _Please_. He doesn’t work, he doesn’t spend time in his labs. He hardly leaves his penthouse. He’s going to drink himself to death.”

Delaney crossed her arms. “What do you expect me to do? I have a good life. I’m not being attacked by supervillains every other week. I feel _safe_.” She didn’t want to admit that she too was miserable, guilty that she in one way hated that her friends were happy: Matt had found Claire and Foggy had found Karen.

“Just...come by once. After that, I'll leave you alone,” Rhodey said before walking away.

“What was that all about?” Claire asked as she came out of the break room.

Delaney slumped against the wall. “Tony fuckin’ Stark,” she said weakly.

Claire nodded in understanding. “‘Nuff said.”  
~~~~~~~~~~  
 _Please pick up, please pick up._ Delaney stood in the lobby of SI, a StarkPhone to her ear and her heart pounding. “Oh thank God. Pepper, I know you probably hate me right now, but--”

“Rhodey talked to you, I know. I'll be right down.”

“Thank you,” Delaney said before Pepper hung up. It was weird, being back at SI. Instead of simply walking down the hall and busying herself in her labs in nothing more than hastily thrown on sweats, she was stuck waiting in the lobby, extremely uncomfortable in her current attire.

“You never wear heels,” came Pepper’s voice from behind her in a surprised tone.

Delaney smiled and turned around. “I did when you interviewed me,” she said in a teasing tone. Sighing, she pushed her glasses up higher on her face. “I'm sorry for leaving, I really am. It was just too much. JARVIS, Vision, Tony…”

Pepper suddenly pulled her into a hug. “I'm just glad you’re back. They’re all a mess,” she said, leading Delaney onto the elevator and up to the residential floors of the Tower.

“They are?” Delaney was surprised. She was never that close to any of the Avengers, barring Wanda and Bruce. Clint hated medical, Natasha usually steered clear of her, Steve and Thor never needed much medical attention if any.

“Bruce feels horrible. He thinks he’s the reason you left,” Pepper explained.

“Of course not!” Delaney said, horrified that her friend could even think that. “I just...thought it was for the best. It seemed Tony was unhappy, Vision reminded me of JARVIS…” she trailed off.

It dawned on her that the elevator was climbing way too high for the residential floors. “You’re not taking me to see the team.”

Pepper only smiled. “I never said I was,” she said as the doors slip open and gently pushed Delaney out and into Tony’s penthouse.

“Pepper!” Delaney gasped. “FRIDAY! Open this door right now!”

“ _I’m sorry, Doctor. Miss Potts has locked down the elevator until further notice._ ”

“Fine,” Delaney huffed. “Tony?” she called out. Where is that man?

“ _He’s in bed_ ,” a young voice supplied. “ _Do you remember me? I’m TONTO!”_

Delaney smiled. “Thank you, TONTO. Where’s JEEVES?”

“ _Mr. Stark isn’t so happy, Doctor,_ ” a second voice said in a stage whisper.

Delaney found Tony laying in his bed, ridiculously drunk. “When was your last shower?” No response, only unintelligible grumblings. “Get up,” she said, hands on her hips.

“Don’ wanna. Go ‘way,” Tony slurred as he rolled away from Delaney, pushing his face into his pillow. “No’un’ll ever love me. Ev’n my soulmate ran ’way.”

Delaney took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry. “Well, Tony,” she started, inwardly cringing at her shaky voice. “Maybe I was scared. I couldn’t possibly be your perfect match. I’m too...plain. I’m just boring old Delaney. I don’t party, I’m not fashionable, and I’ve looked after egotistical superheros for a living for the last two years.” She wiped angrily at the tears spilling onto her cheeks. “Damn it,” she muttered.

“Deserve better than me,” he said, voice muffled by the pillow.

Delaney paused and stared down at him. “How about I decide that while you clean up, hmm?” she offered. She laughed when he shook his head and pushed his face deeper into the pillow, reminding her of a child faking sickness. “Up,” she said, voice hardening. “Or do I have to ask Pepper for help?”

“...no,” Tony muttered before sitting up. He certainly did look awful; a small part of Delaney just wanted to hug him, but the more logical part of her knew he needed proper care first.

“Okay,” Delaney said with a smile. “Good. Now go take a shower. Then we’ll see if we can get a little food in you.”

In the amount of time it took Tony to shower and eat, Delaney had stalled long enough. She _really_ didn’t want to have this conversation, but she knew it had to happen.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she said, going over to him and plucking the bottle of scotch out of his hand. “I didn’t come back here to clean you up just to see you destroy yourself again.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” he said back as he stood. “You left, remember? You didn’t _want_ to be here!”

Delaney laughed humorlessly. “I knew we were going to go back to how we treated each other before. I couldn’t be a professional and work and live in the same building as my soulmate, so I left.”

“Screw professional. I was never good at that anyway,” Tony said as he crossed his arms. “So you move in with another guy instead? ‘Cause that’s a mature response. Not that I’m ever a mature response, but we’re not talking about me.”

Delaney stared at him. “Matt is my friend! I was the only one there for him when we were growing up! He was the blind kid at the orphanage that no one wanted to help, so I did. I could’ve gone _anywhere_ for med school. I stuck with him, I took care of him until his soulmate came along. It’s what I do. I take care of people when they don’t have the sense to take care of themselves.”

Tony looked down and dropped his arms to his sides, embarrassed. “Why would you move in with him?” he asked, his voice soft.

“Because he wouldn’t let me say no. He said ‘let me do what you’ve always done for me’,” Delaney said, a small smile working its way onto her lips.

Taking a look at him, Delaney couldn’t help but soften up. “Tony, look at me,” she said, gently touching his face. He slowly lifted his head, taking his time in looking her in the eyes.

Screw it, she thought. It’s not like I have anything to lose. Delaney then leaned in, dropping her hands to his shoulders as their lips met. It wasn’t like anything she could’ve imagined kissing her soulmate would be, the sudden feeling that everything was okay, that nothing bad was going to happen as long as she was with him. She pulled back and opened her eyes to see him staring back at her, feeling him holding her close.

“I’m sorry. So, so sorry,” he whispered before kissing her again.


	10. Hunter/Delaney

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to ozhawk and LadyWinterlight!

“Dr. Evans, a word please.”

Delaney looked up from her workstation at Maria Hill standing in the doorway. “Of course,” she said quietly before joining Hill in the hallway.

“I’ve gotten word from Coulson that the Avengers picked up one of ours, Agent Lance Hunter. He’ll be brought to to medical. You should know he can be rather...mouthy,” Hill said, giving Delaney a pointed look.

Delaney laughed quietly. “If I can handle Stark, I think I’ll do just fine with Agent Hunter,” she said. “Thank you for the warning. I imagine FRIDAY will notify me about Agent Hunter soon enough.”

“Just passing on information,” Hill said before walking away.

“ _Doctor, Sir asks that medical be equipped upon his arrival,_ ” came FRIDAY’s voice moments later.

“See? Right on time.” Delaney said to no one in particular. “Hopefully Agent Hunter isn’t in too bad of shape. The director is low on agents as it is.”  
~~~~~~~~~~  
The Avengers weren’t all that far out and it was less than an hour later when Delaney was called down to the medical bay. Not only Agent Hunter, but Barton was also brought in on a stretcher.

“What have you done this time?” Delaney sighed as she glanced him over. He looked to have a gunshot wound that had scraped the outside of his right thigh. “Anything I can’t see?”

“No, just this one,” Clint shook his head. “See to Hunter; he’s much more knocked about. He’d been undercover and they picked him up. He was having the snot beaten out of him when we got there.”

Delaney winced in sympathy, hurrying over to where her aides were carefully transferring Agent Hunter to a hospital bed. “Report, FRIDAY!” she requested.

“ _Agent Hunter has two broken ribs, a cracked cheekbone, various levels of bruising, and two missing teeth_ ,” FRIDAY supplied.

“Picked these up before we left,” Natasha said as she handed Delaney a little baggie with two teeth in it.

“Thanks,” Delaney said. The Cradle couldn’t regrow teeth without being very painful, unfortunately. Barton had learned that the hard way. “Right.” She turned to the nearest nurse and got her attention. “Alert Dr. Cho and ask her to get the Cradle ready. Inform her of Agent Hunter’s injuries.” The nurse hurried off and Delaney sighed in relief. “Okay! Everyone out except Romanoff and Hill!”

Much grumbling and shuffling later, only a few nurses, Natasha, Barton, Hill, Agent Hunter, and herself remained. “Let’s see what kind of bruising our dear Agent Hunter has, shall we?”

 _Stay professional_ , Delaney reminded herself as she gently removed the agent’s shirt and body armor. It was - rather difficult. Despite the facial injuries he was still an extremely attractive man.

 _Holy moly look at those abs - no, no, do not look at the abs, Delaney._ She had the awful feeling that Natasha was reading her mind, the redhead standing opposite her with her arms folded and a smirk building on her face.

Gritting her teeth, she fell back on her familiar routine.

“Pulse fifty-five and steady, a little slow but probably about resting pace for a man in his physical condition” _oh God here I go again_ “blood pressure low but steady, respiration shallow… definitely cracked ribs,” as she lightly touched a massive black bruise on Agent Hunter’s side “but the injury looks fresh.” She looked up at Natasha. “How long has he been unconscious, do you know?”

“He was drifting in and out when we got there. Mumbled enough to tell me who he was and some important info about the base, but he’s been out of it since we had to move him to get him on the jet,” Natasha shrugged. “So, about an hour, maybe?”

Delaney nodded, peeled back an eyelid to check the unconscious man’s pupils. _Oh, he’s got really pretty eyes…_

“He seems stable enough to get him into the Cradle, anyway,” she stepped back hurriedly as Natasha’s smirk widened even further. “Let’s get those teeth back in.”

One of her nurses had been busy sterilising said teeth, held Hunter’s jaw open for Delaney to carefully reinsert them.

_I bet he’ll have a nice smile when he’s awake._

“All right,” she stepped back, peeling off her gloves. “Let’s get Sleeping Beauty here into the Cradle.”

Natasha was actually laughing aloud as Delaney and her team pushed the hospital bed out of the med bay and headed off to Helen Cho’s lab.  
~~~~~~~~~~  
“Boy, was I _wrong_ about him,” Delaney muttered. “I definitely preferred him asleep.” Agent Hunter was more than mouthy; he was quite infuriating. He hadn’t said anything to her yet, but a few of her nurses were at their wits end with the man.

“What’s that?” Barton asked, a stupid grin on his face from the drug she was now regretting having injected him with to deaden the pain from his bullet wound. “You’re _wrong_ about something? Have we fallen through an alternate dimension?”

Delaney huffed, choosing to ignore Barton and instead stalked over to Agent Hunter. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stop harassing my nurses. They don’t deserve it,” she said, glaring at him.

Agent Hunter grinned at her. “Well, now that you’ve shown up I can stop,” he said.

Delaney chuckled. “I’m assuming Stark’s just been practice for your delightful personality, Agent Hunter,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Just Hunter. Or Lance, if you prefer,” he reached for her hand, smiling up at her with a smile just as nice as she’d thought he’d have, his chocolatey eyes sparkling with humour. “Or you could call me _darlin’._ Whatever you like.”

“How about trouble?” She couldn’t seem to wipe the goofy smile off her face.

“Now now, gorgeous, that ain’t very nice.” He squeezed her fingers lightly, still smiling. “I understand I have you to thank for patchin’ me back up good as new, doc.”

“Couldn’t let those good looks get spoiled, now could we?” _Stop it Delaney_ , she told herself. _You’re a horrible flirt!_ But Hunter didn’t seem to notice at all.

His grin widened. “Glad you think I’m good lookin’.”

“I think you’re a menace to my peace of mind,” Delaney said, no heat in her voice.

She blushed as Hunter kissed the knuckles of the hand he held. “What’s your name, love?” he asked softly. The way Hunter was looking at her made her feel like she was a lost treasure he had stumbled across.

“Dr. Delaney Evans,” she said as she leaned down to kiss him. She laughed quietly as he made disappointed sounds as she pulled back, her lips right next to his ear. “When you see him, ask Coulson when I can get back to the exciting stuff.”


	11. Steve/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This AU is set shortly after the events of Age of Ultron.

“Welcome to your new home, Dr. Evans.”

“Thank you, Miss Potts,” Delaney said as she slipped her jacket from her shoulders and draped it across the back of the armchair. _Stark sure doesn’t skimp on accommodations._

He definitely didn’t. Her suite consisted of a bedroom, bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. It was more like what she imagined the rooms in a ridiculously expensive hotel would look like. Not that she had ever been in one personally, only seen them on TV or been bragged to about.

“Please, call me Pepper. I’ll leave you to get settled in. When you’re ready, let FRIDAY know and he’ll direct you to your labs.” The other woman exited Delaney’s rooms without another word.

 _ **My** labs._ The thought was almost laughable; she was barely into her thirties and she had been hired as the Avengers’ physician. She had been quite startled when Fury approached her with the job a month earlier. He had assured her, however, that it was the best way to keep the Avengers under a careful watch. After all, who would suspect the doe-eyed doctor?

After Delaney changed into clothes more suitable for work, she cleared her throat. “FRIDAY?” she asked tentatively.

 _“Hello, Doctor. I am FRIDAY. Do you wish to see your labs now?”_ The voice was Irish, pleasant. It reminded her of her mentor at the Academy.

“That would be nice. Thank you,” Delaney said as she exited her rooms. “Um, how do I-” She made a locking motion with her hand.

_“No need, Doctor. The residential suites are programmed so that only you and those you wish can enter.”_

Delaney’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of quiet laughter. She turned around, ready to chew whoever it was out; Maria Hill had warned her that Agent Barton would try to push her around. However, she hadn’t expected Captain America himself to be standing there. She chuckled nervously and crossed her arms across her chest. “Um, how long have you been standing there?”

He looked shocked for a few moments before he regained his composure. “I’m sorry,” he said, smiling despite himself. “You’re handling all the tech stuff better than I did. It’s like a whole different world.”

Delaney couldn’t help her little gasp as she stared at him. _Captain America is my soulmate? Lucky me…_ She blushed when she realized she’d said those particular thoughts aloud.

He laughed again, this time his mouth forming into a devastating grin. “I think I’m the lucky one, Miss…?” He slowly approached, and Delaney could tell in the soft light in the hallway that his cheeks were pink.

“Doctor,” she corrected as she looked up at him, internally kicking herself for sounding so self-important. _He doesn’t care about that, you idiot!_ “Dr. Delaney Evans.”

“Delaney,” he said, testing her name. It didn’t sound so boring, the way he said it. “There’s no need for titles here. Call me Steve.” He hesitantly took one of her hands in his, thumb running back and forth over the back of it.

Delaney gave him a bright smile. “FRIDAY was just about to lead me down to my labs. Would you like to come with? Pepper’s going to show me around, but…” she trailed off, looking anywhere but at her soulmate.

He squeezed her hand lightly. “Of course. I’d love to keep you company,” Steve said. “FRIDAY?”

“ _Please follow the illuminated floor tiles. They will bring you to your intended destination.”_


	12. Peter Quill/Delaney

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when Delaney gets kidnapped by aliens?

“Get your filthy hands off of me, you stormtrooper wannabe!”

Peter’s head whipped around, frantically searching for the woman speaking English. “Shut up, Rocket! Do you guys hear that?”

“I hear those guns calling my name,” Rocket muttered as he stared longingly at the weapons booth they passed.

“No, you furball, I heard a woman speaking English!” Peter snapped, still searching for the woman in distress.

“Many speak your language,” Gamora pointed out as she inspected a piece of weaponry.

“Yeah, but how many know what a stormtrooper is?” Peter countered as he hurried through the streets, following the woman’s voice as best he could.

“I am…”

“Yes, I know. I am Groot,” Peter said. He stopped in his tracks as he heard the announcer’s voice from inside the slave auction: “...a rare female specimen from Terra!”

The woman being dragged up onto the auction block was beautiful, with milky white skin and wild dark curls framing her face, scantily clad, and seriously pissed off.

Panicking, Peter quickly checked their funds as the bidding began. It had already climbed ridiculously high before he got in his first bid. _Just because she’s human,_ he thought bitterly. He felt strangely drawn to her, felt a _need_ to protect her.

“Why would you buy a slave?” Drax asked as Peter bid for a second time.

Peter sighed as the beautiful woman was sold off to the highest bidder, a wealthy female Clowa, purple-skinned and pink hair. He shuddered as the alien inspected the human woman, its three-fingered hands lifting her chin, expensive rings glinting off the arena’s lights.

“She’s from Earth, where I’m from,” Peter said, his voice dropping. “She doesn’t belong here. Probably has a decent life back on Earth, and now she’s a slave.”

~~~~~~~~~~

  
“I have located her buyer,” Gamora said, days later. “Vertia Goraz. She is known for buying a wide range of species for her slave collection. Lucky for you, she’s willing to make a deal. She wants to meet tonight in Knowhere.” She crossed her arms and gave Peter a pointed look. “The last time we were in Knowhere, it didn’t go so well...”

“Knowhere, yeah, let’s go there. I won such a big pot from those idiot apes,” Rocket said.

“Goraz likes to gamble,” Gamora said, giving Rocket a thoughtful look. The raccoon bared his teeth.

“Rocket, would you…” Peter said hopefully.

‘If you let me buy one of those big guns, I might be persuaded.”

Peter considered it for a moment, but only a moment. “Deal.”

“Why do you not gamble for the woman yourself?” Drax rumbled. “If Rocket wins her, he will own her, not you.”

“I don’t want to own her, and Rocket’s going to free her right away. Aren’t you, Rocket?”

“I dunno, she looked like a spitfire…”

“I am Groot!”

“Okay, okay, yes, of course, I’ll free her right away!”

“He’s way better at cards and dice than me anyway,” Peter told Drax, who still looked bemused. “I’d just end up losing.”

“And since we’re already broke, let’s not do that,” Gamora concluded. “All right. Knowhere it is. But I’m not pulling your ass out of any fights,” she pointed at Rocket.

“Me?” the raccoon tried to look innocent. He failed miserably.

“I am Groot!”

  
~~~~~~~~~~

 

“What the _actual_ fuck?” Peter muttered as he saw Rocket, Gamora, and Drax being hauled off by the Knowhere authorities in handcuffs.

“This is what happens when you take too long to do your hair, Peter!” Gamora called to him.

“Well, shit!” Peter muttered to himself. “Now what?” Going back to the ship would be pointless; Groot was there, but they’d left Groot on the ship for a reason. The sentient tree was as yet too small to be capable of self-defense, and on Knowhere that was asking for trouble.

He could go and try to bail the others out. But likely enough they’d be ordered off the colony immediately, and he’d lose his chance at meeting the slave-owner and maybe buying the human woman.

“Better hope Goraz is a bad gambler, then.”

  
~~~~~~~~~~

 _Should’ve listened to Matt,_ Delaney thought angrily. _Stupid SHIELD, stupid Avengers, stupid aliens!_ She pulled at the ridiculous clothing she wore, angry tears welling in her eyes. Not only was it uncomfortable, but the clothing was too skimpy for her taste. She had to admit they weren’t as horrible as what she had worn to the auction.

Her mind wandered to the man who had bid on her a few times. He had been oddly frantic and upset when Goraz bought her. Her eyes had met his for only a moment; she could remember the curious flutter of her heart, vaguely recognizing not only him but also the raccoon creature with him.

That was ridiculous, of course. She had never been on another planet, though Thor had offered numerous times to take her to Asgard. She always declined, as she had a strong feeling Odin wouldn’t be best pleased by her presence.

She studied her three soulmarks carefully, one romantic and two platonic. The romantic one was on the back of her right calf, while her platonic marks were on the palm of each hand. On Earth, she had taken to keeping her hands covered in public; it wasn’t surprising how many people commented on them, given how odd they were. The possessive one was in crude handwriting on her left, and it was soft to touch, while the simplistic one on her right was rough to touch, the tall letters seeming to be written by a small child.

“What are those?”

Delaney turned her head, surprised to see a small girl peering curiously at her hands. If she had been a human, Delaney would’ve guessed her to be five or six years old. She pushed away the anger bubbling up inside her at the thought of the girl growing up in slavery; instead, she smiled indulgently.

“These are platonic soulmarks,” she explained. At the girl’s puzzled expression, she went on. “They mean that someday I’ll meet two people that will be the best friends I will ever have.”

The little girl’s eyes brightened with understanding. “That one’s funny,” she giggled, pointing to the rough soulmark. “Do you have any others?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“A romantic one, yes. Whoever he is, he rescues me when we meet,” she said. It was so easy to talk openly with children; they would not judge you by your soulmarks.

The little girl’s eyes went wide before she started bouncing up and down with excitement. “There’s a man here gambling for you! It _must_ be him!” she all but squealed.

Delaney’s smile slid from her face. She didn’t dare crush the girl’s hopes, but Delaney was certain whoever wanted her didn’t want her for good reasons. What limited information she had gathered in the time she had been here pointed to the fact that humans were incredibly rare and were never released from slavery. It took all of Delaney’s willpower to keep herself from crying; she couldn’t bear to imagine what a new owner would do to her.

“I wish I had one...I don’t have anybody. When Mother died, Mistress took me,” the little girl said sadly.

“Get up, Terran.”

The slave girl scrambled away from Delaney at the sound of the deep voice in the doorway. Delaney stood, determined to ignore the way the massive yellow alien eyed her appreciatively. “Where am I being taken now?”

“Quiet, scum!” he growled, prodding her out of the small room and into the room where Goraz and the man gambling for her were waiting.

Goraz glared at the man before looking to Delaney. “It seems this Terran has won your freedom. Remove her restraints,” she said, her tone almost bored.

Delaney backed away, pinning Goraz with her best death stare. “I am not leaving without the little slave girl.”

Goraz’s expression went cold. “You will.”

The hulking alien released her restraints, pushing her roughly towards her new master. The man caught her by the arm easily, hauling her off.

“Let go of me, you sex-crazed bastard!” Delaney pulled her arm out of his grip and all but growled at him as he grinned.

“Is that the kind of thanks I get for rescuing you?”

Delaney’s palm connected with his cheek, leaving an angry red mark. Her eyes widened as his words sunk in. I just slapped my soulmate! “So...you’re human?” she asked weakly.

“Sort of!” he said cheerfully. “Come on, let’s get you out of here and I’ll explain everything.”

~~~~~~~~~~

  
Delaney _definitely_ hadn’t expected to be greeted by a huge alien with strange markings, a green woman, a _talking_ raccoon, and a sentient tree.

“Delaney, this is Drax, Gamora, Rocket, and Groot.”

She froze. “Groot?” she asked, kneeling down to the small tree’s level.

Its little face lit up into an expression that resembled a smile and offered her a tiny flower growing from it’s branches. “We are Groot!”

Delaney couldn’t help her smile as she offered the palm with the rough writing. “Aren’t you cute?”

The raccoon bared his teeth in a smile. “We _have_ to keep you now!”

Delaney raised an eyebrow, turning towards the raccoon. “Don’t sound so disappointed.”

She drew back when he growled out a string of curses, most of which were foreign to her, but she got his point; she wasn’t wanted. She squeezed her hand closed which had Rocket’s writing on it. _Don’t you **dare** cry,_ she told herself. _You don’t want to be here. You want to go home. You **have** to go home._ But with a glance at Peter, she knew she didn’t want to leave; it would be too painful.

“We are Groot!” One of the little tree’s branches reached out and smacked the back of Rocket’s head.

“Oh, give it a rest! She’s not staying. We’re taking her back to where she belongs,” Rocket said.

“She’s staying as long as she wants to,” Peter said, helping Delaney up.

“Why do you care? She’s just a humie!” Rocket yelled.

“Because she’s my soulmate, you idiot!” Peter yelled right back.

Rocket’s face fell at his words; he knew Peter wouldn’t be able to let her go.

“He’s not an idiot,” Delaney said, not sure what came over her to defend Rocket.

“You are wrong, rodent. Soulmate bonds are holy union. No one can reject their soulmate. Soulmate dies,” Drax said.

Delaney rounded on him. “Rocket is not a rodent!” she said, anger and frustration seeping into her voice. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m not going to stand by and let ANYONE disrespect any of my soulmates.”

“Easy,” Peter said, reaching for Delaney’s left hand. The simple touch allowed Delaney to calm down, to push her anger away.

“Drax is right. Soulmates are special, something to be celebrated. It’s wrong to reject her, Rocket. I have had a mark since the day that I was born. While I have yet to meet him, I somehow doubt he could accept me due to my past crimes. Sometimes we must choose who we surround ourselves with because of who we know will accept us,” Gamora said.

Delaney smiled at her kind words. “It isn’t necessary, Gamora. It’s not common, but there are soulmates -- platonic and romantic -- who have been rejected on Earth.” She glanced down as Groot tugged on her hand, his expression sad. He hesitantly touched a branch to the mark on her right hand. There was a dull sensation she could feel, the bond trying to form. “I’m sorry, Groot. I don’t think it can work without Rocket.” Groot made a sound somewhere between sad and angry, continuing to press the branch onto Delaney’s palm.

Rocket rolled his eyes. “Stop it, you look ridiculous,” he said to Groot. “Don’t you have a family or something?” he aimed at Delaney.

“Or something,” Delaney said. “They’ll be worried about me…” she muttered.

“See? She has to go back! She’s got people, Quill. She’s got a life!” Rocket said.

Delaney smiled; without saying it, Rocket had revealed that he didn’t hate her. “Just because I have people doesn’t mean there’s room in my heart for more.”

“We are Groot! We are Groot! We are Groot!” Groot smacked Rocket again.

Delaney shook her head. “Groot, if he doesn’t want to, he shouldn’t. If I bond with you two, it would be difficult for me to go back to Earth.”

Groot turned and looked up at her. “I am Groot?”

“He’s asking if you’d really want to go back…” Rocket translated.

She couldn’t stand to harm any of her mates that way; it hurt her to even think about going home, but she supposed she had to eventually. Peter had explained to her that his father was alien, so in a way, he could stay out here in space for as long as he wanted. But she was only human.

“I’m not sure. I would miss my friends…” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. “Regardless, I am not going back to Earth without that slave girl.”

“Enough about the slave girl! She’s not our problem,” he said.

Delaney raised her eyebrows. “You’re right. She’s my problem. Goraz will raise her to do what she wanted to do with me. I could never forgive myself if I left her to that hell.”

Peter clenched his jaw, choosing not to answer.

“You didn’t spend five days with her, Peter. That little girl is scared. She clung to the idea of my soulmate coming to rescue me, and you did. She has _no one._ No soulmark, no family. If you won’t help me, I want you to return me to Goraz. At least then I can protect her.”

“Why do you care so much about her?”

“Because she reminds me of myself,” Delaney said quietly. “I was an orphan from the time I was eight years old. No family ever took me in, not with my strange marks. My only friend was a boy who had suffered an accident that permanently blinded him while giving him enhanced senses.

“I fumbled through life until SHIELD picked me up, gave me a place to belong. After the Chitauri invaded, I was transferred to Stark Tower, where I lived until I was abducted.” She smiled. “Making sure five superheroes take care of themselves is harder than it sounds.”

“That little girl has potential. It doesn’t matter that she’s got green skin like Gamora, or that her entire family’s gone. I connected with her, and I need to make sure she gets a chance.”

Gamora stared at Delaney. “She looks like me?” she asked, advancing on her.

“...Yes? Is there something I need to know?”

Gamora roughly pushed Peter out of the way. “We’re going back and getting that girl.”

“We are Groot!”

  
~~~~~~~~~~

“Tony...I know you don’t want to think it, but we have to consider human trafficking.”

Tony glared at Bruce. “How are you so calm? Delaney has been gone for FIVE DAYS. She hasn’t called, she hasn’t e-mailed, she hasn’t alerted SHIELD.”

“You’re just proving my point.”

“Maybe a family emergency?” Steve suggested.

“Hate to say it, Steve, but not likely. Unless you count us and her blind friend. Look. She left the Tower for a date on Friday. It’s Wednesday now. _No way_ she’s still with that guy. Bruce...might be right. New York isn’t exactly safe for single girls like our Dels. Wouldn’t take much for a pimp to grab her up…” Clint leaned against the wall, sharpening an arrow.

Steve stared in shock. “ _No_ ,” he whispered. “You’re not suggesting...”

“What the hell?” Tony muttered. _INCOMING VIDEO CALL_ flashed on the screen.

“Hi, Tony.” Delaney waved at them through the screen.

“Where the hell are you, Evans? You’ve been gone for FIVE DAYS!”

“Please, talk quieter. It’s been a rough few days. Kidnapped by aliens, sold as a slave, bought from my mistress by my soulmate, meeting my platonic soulmates...You know. The usual.”

It took a few moments because anyone spoke. “Dels, where are you?” Steve’s quieter voice asked.

“The quick answer would be space!” A man popped out from behind her said cheerfully. “I’m the soulmate, by the way.”

“Peter!” Delaney sighed. “I guess now would be the best time for introductions…” She stepped back.

“This is my soulmate, Peter, my friends Gamora, Drax, Nym, and my platonic soulmates Rocket and Groot.” She gestured to the human-looking man, a green woman, a huge man with interesting patterns on his skin, a young girl who looked like Gamora, a bipedal talking raccoon, and a sentient tree.

“Um. Great. So are you guys going to return our girl?” Tony asked.

“How about a visit?”

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a day later that the Milano was docked at Avengers’ Tower. Rocket had finally given it to Groot’s pleading after rescuing Nym and consented to bond with him and Delaney.

Delaney was barely off the ship when she was rushed by the Avengers. Surprisingly, Tony hugged her first. “Don’t scare us like that, Dels. We--I thought we lost you.”

“Who are you and what have you done with Tony Stark?” Her words were teasing, but she was tearing up.

She was then handed off to Bruce, who hugged her tightly as well. “I’m glad you’re safe,” he whispered.

“Thank Peter,” she whispered back.

Next came Steve, who promptly wrapped her in a bear hug, nearly crushing her. “Easy there, Cap,” she laughed as he set her down.

“God, Dels...are you okay?” he asked. “I thought you were _gone_.”

“I’m fine, Steve. Trust me.”

Clint’s hug was much gentler, careful. “Figures. You go find some green-skinned space babes and I don’t even get to come along.”

“I see you’re as sarcastic as before.”

Natasha was last. “Space treats you well,” she said with grin as she hugged Delaney tight.

Delaney looked back at her new family, her eyes softening. “Come on,” she beckoned.

Rocket bared his teeth in a grin and raced over, Groot lumbering after him. Nym ran to Delaney with a girlish squeal, quickly followed by Gamora, Drax, and Peter.

“So how is this going to pan out?” Peter’s voice was hesitant.

“What do you mean?” Delaney frowned, looked up at him.

“The Avengers are your family. I can’t take you away from them, it wouldn’t be right. And I can’t stay here. Earth isn’t my home anymore.”

“One step at a time, Star-Lord. We’ll figure it out,” she promised.

“Hey, Quill? Small problem,” Rocket called out.

“What now, furball?”

“Captain Pretty Boy and Gamora are soulmates!”


End file.
